Get Guardian on GoogleArmed bandits, last Thursday night, again struck in Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State, killing a father and his son.
Another of his sons escaped into the bush during the assault.
Our reporter was reliably told that the deceased, Mall Shaba, a logistic vehicle driver, left his Gadabuzuwa home to honour a business appointment with a client at Agboro when he ran into the bandits.
According to eyewitnesses, Shaba was in the company of his two children when the unfortunate incident occurred.
A female source (names withheld) explained that Shaba’s other son escaped into the bush by a whisker.
“They were attacked and killed along Gadabuzuwa-Agboro road,” she recalled. “They were shot dead.”
An embittered traditional ruler, who preferred anonymity, said: “We know the armed forces are trying their best, but they should please do more; they should help intensify efforts.”
He lamented: “We want the Fulanis in our midst to leave our land and go back to their fatherland, because we accommodated them, and now they have turned against us. Let the Fulani in Patigi go out of our land.
“The bandits are hiding within the Fulanis. Each time our hunters are chasing the bandits, they always run into the Fulanis’ hut, and when our hunters return, they will come outside.
“We are tired of dying in silence. There should be a way out of this self-inflicted sorry state,” he wept.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army has recently deployed troops to battle bandits and general insurgency in Kwara South and North.
